Established in 2009 Under the Authority of North Carolina General Statute 15A-404

A man has been charged in the shooting and serious injury of an Army National Guard combat medic while she was feeding her baby in her East Charlotte home.

23-year-old Reco Latur Dawkins Jr. is charged with felony breaking and entering, attempted murder, and conspiracy. Dawkins turned himself in to the violent criminal apprehension team of the police department Sunday morning, according to police.

Right before 10 a.m. on Tuesday, November 3, 2015 intruders knocked on 21-year-old Semantha Bunce’s front door, rang her doorbell, then kicked the door in. Bunce had been feeding her baby.

When the intruders entered the house on Matlea Court, Bunce retrieved her gun and exchanged shots with the suspects at her bedroom door, according to family members.

Bunce was shot several times during the exchange. She was recovering at Carolinas Medical Center on Sunday.

Bunce’s baby was not injured in the incident.

Initially, police had thought more than one intruder was involved in the home invasion, but it was unclear on Sunday if investigators were searching for another person in the shooting.

Bunce’s husband, Paul Bunce III, said he believes the training his wife had as a U.S. Army 105th Engineer Battalion member is what helped her stay calm and focused during the shooting that could have been fatal.

Dawkins had been arrested several times previously, beginning when he was a teenager, on breaking and entering and other charges. His arrest on Sunday was his seventh within the last three years, the Mecklenburg Sheriff’s Office said.

Someone shot and seriously injured a woman in northeast Charlotte after attempting to rob her home late Tuesday morning, November 3, 2015 according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.

Just before 10 a.m., police were called to the home in the 6400 block of Matlea Court, off Plaza Road Extension. The victim was found there with a gunshot wound. Medic said she was taken to the hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries.

According to police, the woman had been with a baby inside the home when the suspects kicked in her front door.

Before leaving, the suspects shot the woman, a CMPD news release said. The child was left unharmed in the incident.

The number of suspects involved is unknown, according to police. Based on initial information provided to police, the victim likely did not know the suspects.

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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police have linked a shooting that happened on Halloween to one of 17 illegal liquor establishment locations in Charlotte, federal court records show.

The shooting happened at 3631 Statesville Ave. A victim in the shooting, Darius Jenkins, said he had been at a Carolina Hot Boyz Motorcycle Club clubhouse when a fight started. Jenkins told investigators he heard two gunshots outside of the clubhouse, then started running away and realized he had been shot in the leg, according to documents.

The shooting occurred just days after police had identified that clubhouse and another one at 2630 Statesville Ave. as two of the 17 locations that had been raided for illegal liquor distribution in the last year.

The second location is not active anymore, the CMPD release on Oct. 21 said.

These clubs had been linked to 13 people shot and four homicides, according to CMPD in October.

Over Labor Day week, someone had shot four people in open fire outside a West Boulevard liquor house. A double homicide was also reported on North Hoskins Street.

13 people have been arrested on alcohol charges so far, and they are hoping to prevent more future violence by looking for the establishments they haven’t identified yet.

Police believed the locations’ organizers use social media for advertising parties, according to Eyewitness News.

To report an active liquor house to police, call 911. To report a location that is not operating but suspicious, call 704-336-8423 for the VICE hotline.

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The suspect in a fatal shooting on Sept. 6 in East Charlotte was arrested and charged on Tuesday, November 10, 2015 according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.

18-year-old Quincy Dushawn McWaine, of Charlotte, faces murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon charges in the shooting and killing of 30-year-old Elias Izagirre Perez.

The crime happened in the 1100 block of Glenfiddich Drive, off The Plaza, and was one of five that occurred over Labor Day weekend.

McWaine had been in jail already on charges of breaking and entering, conspiracy breaking and entering a building to commit a larceny, and larceny after breaking and entering, according to jail records. These charges were not related to the Sept. 6 crimes.

It has also not been said what evidence led police to the arrest of McWaine.

Anyone with information is encouraged to speak with a homicide detective by calling 704-432-TIPS (8477) 704-334-1600 for Crime Stoppers.

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Two Charlotte men have been arrested in an assault and robbery case that occurred at a Wells Fargo Branch on Tuesday, November 10, 2015.

The armed robbery happened at the branch located in the 4500 block of Park Road at about 10 a.m., according to police.

Jarrett Edwards, 29, and Anthony Woods, 32, were charged with conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon and robbery with a dangerous weapon.

Edwards has been jailed on bail set at $125,000. Woods was also jailed on $50,000 bail.

An employee at the bank suffered non-life-threatening injuries due to assault during the robbery, police said. They were taken to the hospital.

The men fled in a white Honda before getting into a gray Ford Fusion, according to police.

Information about the suspects was broadcast to officers immediately, and a patrol officer in the Westover Division began pursuing the Fusion. A canine unit, police helicopter, and officers in the Freedom and Metro divisions attempted to stop the car, but it kept going.

According to police, the Fusion slowed on LaSalle Street and one of the men jumped from the vehicle and ran. The car then continued but sideswiped another vehicle and became disabled.

The Fusion’s driver was arrested. Metro Division officers and a canine unit soon caught the other man who ran.

Police ask anyone with information on the crime to contact Crime Stoppers: 704-334-1600.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police have arrested a man in connection with a robbery at an East Charlotte convenience store.

Keventz Harris, 18, has been charged with common law robbery, four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, four counts of shooting into an occupied dwelling, and shooting in the city limits.

At approximately 2 p.m. onWednesday, November 11, officers responded to an assault with a deadly weapon at the Circle K located at 4921 E. Independence Blvd. When officers arrived at the store, the victims stated that Harris had attempted to steal an item from within the store. When the clerk confronted him, a struggle ensued and the suspect fled from the store, drew a handgun, and fired several shots through the front door of the business.

Based on the description given to officers on the scene, authorities were able to locate and arrest Harris without further incident. Harris later confessed his involvement in the crimes and was transported to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office.

Anyone with information regarding this case or the suspect is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police say the number of gang members in Charlotte is down, but the problems they cause are up.

Anchor Molly Grantham sat down to talk one-on-one with Captain Mike Harris, who is over the unit in Charlotte Mecklenburg Police that fights gangs in Charlotte.

“Gangs are smarter than they were three or four years ago,” he said. “Not all gangs show colors. Not all gangs show hand signs and gestures. A lot of times, it’s Facebook and Instagram and Snapchat. That’s how they now communicate.”

Captain Harris also says Charlotte is a city of transportation ease. Great for many of us who can get across the county in 20 minutes, but that same fact makes fighting gangs difficult.

“It’s easy to get from Point A to Point B,” he said. “City buses, rental cars, personal cars gang members own… they can get places fast. It’s not as much about turf. So you have people who live in, gang members who live in the east side of Charlotte, who don’t commit any crime in east Charlotte. They commit it all in west Charlotte or northwest Charlotte.”

Captain Harris says that means there aren’t as many neighborhood gangs in Charlotte. They’re more mobile and less organized than traditional gangs.

It was 2010 the last time WBTV had asked CMPD for statistics on how many documented – or, known – gangs and gang members were in Mecklenburg County. At that time we had been told there were about 2,000 known gang members and about 150 known gangs.

Captain Harris says there’s a variety of reasons for the drop – gangs merge and people are deported and fall off the local lists – but the main reason, he says, is if gang members are no longer flashing signs or wearing certain colors, they’re not as easy to document.

He also gave us the seven gangs causing the most problems for his officers in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

MS-13

SUR-13

Crips

Bloods

Hidden Valley Kings

The Jack Boys

Kut Throat Killers

Those final three area all gangs specific to Charlotte. Police say the Hidden Valley Kings are mostly located in the Hidden Valley neighborhood of northeast Charlotte, and The Jack Boys and Kut Throat Killers are located mostly in the northeast part of Mecklenburg County.

Captain Harris also said The Jack Boys and the Kut Throat Killers are big into local narcotics, violent criminal acts and property crimes.

“When we put pressure through our investigations on these gangs,” he said, “it pushes a lot of them back into the shadows and to stop committing crimes.”

Captain Harris also says its “gang unit” is no longer using that name.

“We’re the anti-crime unit,” he said. “We have a division called ‘Covert Operations’. That’s my division. Within that division we have three functions – our local version of ABC that deals with clubs and ABC violations – traditional vice and narcotics and the third part of covert operations is not the ‘anti-crime unit’. That’s what gangs fall under.”

Captain Harris says they combined what used to be separate units into this one division to go after a broader spectrum of violent offenders.

“We didn’t want to be pigeon-holed, so to speak, into only going after gangs,” he said. “We didn’t want to forget a group of people committing crimes that might not fit ‘gangs’ but are still doing criminal activity and committing violent offenses.”

He says there are three sergeants in this division and approximately 30 detectives and two analysts. All, he says, are trained on knowing what to look for and how to combat gangs.

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New details have emerged about a woman who fought off two intruders during a home invasion.

Semantha Bunce is recovering at CMC and is in stable condition after being shot. Her family says that she has been in and out of consciousness and that she is talking.

“We are making progress, I am able to talk to her,” said Paul Bunce, Semantha’s husband. “She is in and out because she is on medication, and she has severe pain. We have a 4-month-old son, so every couple of hours I am going over there to pump for her.”

At the time of the invasion, the couple’s daughter was at school. Semantha and 4-month-old Bentley were home when the two men kicked down the front door.

“Not a scratch is on him. She brought the matter away from him and definitely protected him. She laid him down in the crib upstairs in our room. He was safe there,” said Paul.

Bunce said that Semantha grabbed her pistol and fired at the men.

“She was in a gunfight in the house — multiple shots going back and forth,” Bunce said.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police are looking for the gunmen responsible for shooting a young Charlotte mother in front of her baby.

The incident occurred on Matlea Court in northeast Charlotte around 10 a.m. Tuesday.

“I was in the house, my son was eating breakfast, and I heard a couple of gunshots, but at the time I didn’t know they were gunshots,” said Joseph Chambers, one of the victim’s neighbors.

Police say the suspects apparently kicked in the front door and headed up the stairs, and perhaps were surprised by the woman of the house, 21-year-old Sementha Bunce, who was taking care of her little girl at the time.

“She was here with her infant child, the suspects attempted to break into their house, and she interrupted that burglary and was shot in the process. The baby was not injured,” said Hickory Grove Division Captain Chuck Hinson.

The child is staying with a relative while Bunce is fighting for her life in the hospital. Police don’t have a lot of information about the suspects at this time, saying they don’t even know how many people were involved yet.

“I hope that justice I served and whoever went in there to harm this lady and her child are caught and nothing like this in my neighborhood ever happens again,” said Tameka Joins.

NBC Charlotte reached out to Bunce’s husband for an update on her condition, but he declined to comment.